Ms. Patience Okala

Patience Okala serves as the National Coordinator of the Nigeria AfCFTA Coordination Office and Special Adviser, Legal Affairs on Trade and Investment to the Honourable Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment. In her advisory capacity, she supports the Minister on critical trade and investment matters, including aligning Nigeria’s regulatory framework with the AfCFTA Agreement. She played a key role in coordinating Nigeria’s AfCFTA Central Coordination Committee and the gazetting of Nigeria’s provisional Schedule of Tariff Concessions.

Mrs. Okala brings over two decades of experience from the Nigerian Investment Promotion Commission (NIPC), where she rose to Director, Legal Services, and served as Lead Negotiator on international investment treaties. She led reforms of Nigeria’s International Investment Agreements to attract responsible, inclusive, balanced, and sustainable investment, and contributed to the development of Nigeria’s model bilateral investment treaty, which was recognized in UNCTAD’s World Investment Report.

She has played key roles in negotiations across regional and global platforms, including the AfCFTA Protocol on Investment, the ICSID Rules Amendment process, and UNCITRAL Working Group III. She also led the development of Nigeria’s first National Investment Policy (2023). Mrs. Okala is a frequent speaker at major global investment forums and continues to drive policy innovation and continental collaboration.